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Hygiene (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1964 (No. 120) - Latvia (RATIFICATION: 1993)

Article 12 of the Convention. Supply of wholesome drinking water to workers. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that Regulation No. 235 of the Cabinet of Ministers has been amended on 24 April 2014, to prescribe that the testing of drinking water shall be carried out by a laboratory, which is accredited by the limited liability company “Standardization, Accreditation and Metrology Centre” in the Latvian National Accreditation Bureau, in accordance with the laws and regulations in force. It also notes the Government’s statement that Regulation No. 359 of 28 April 2009 prescribes that in outdoor workplaces, employees shall be provided with drinking water (subparagraph 10). The Commission also notes the Government’s indication that employers more frequently offer employees beverages. However, the Committee observes that the aforementioned Regulations and Amendments do not appear to provide for sufficient supply of wholesome drinking water to all workers, particularly for indoor workers as the scope of application of the Conventions includes workers who are mainly engaged in commerce or office work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures undertaken or envisaged with a view to ensuring that a sufficient supply of wholesome drinking water, or of some other wholesome drink, is made available to all workers covered by the Convention.

Article 14. Suitable seats supplied to workers. The Government indicates that when employees work in a standing position, the employer must provide a chair for the employee to sit down, and that the state labour inspectorate tests both the work environment risk assessment and the measures taken by the employer to assess whether the employee has had the opportunity to sit down. The Committee recalls that sufficient and suitable seats should be supplied for all workers and that, as far as possible, work stations should be so arranged that those who work standing may discharge their duties sitting whenever compatible with the nature of the work. The Committee requests the Government to specify the surveillance measures that the state labour inspectorate takes in order to enforce this obligation under this Article of the Convention.

Article 6. Inspection and statistics. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government in its report, including the number of violations detected by labour inspectors. However, the Committee also notes that in the reporting period the percentage of violations in the field of labour protection which have been corrected has dropped from 90.7 per cent to 76.3 per cent although there is no analysis of the reasons for this. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice, including, where available, information on the number of workers covered, the number and nature of contraventions reported, and the number, nature and cause of occupational accidents and diseases reported. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a fuller analysis and explanation of any statistics, including in relation to the correction of any violations.